As players of slow/normal are painfully aware, our pool of players is small (even by GC standards) and slowly shrinking. As a fed leader, I`ve seen over and over again how players end up getting bored with the game cuz they can`t clear the obligatory exploration/basic research phase, which often takes up to 2-3 months of research on slower servers.
This is far too long to wait to start to have fun and start working with fed-mates on the slower servers, and most folks just get bored and quit (or never even bother signing up, like on slow) rather than putting in the time. Exploring/basic research is BORING, battles are FUN. I want to minimize the boring and maximize the FUN!! :D
So here`s my big idea:
Use a combination of stats, attack wins, rankings, empire age, account age and other criteria (as deemed appropriate by the staff) for a variety of rewards and prizes. To claim the reward new players must contact admins/guides who will then determine if the player deserves it.
These prizes MUST emphasize FREE BASIC RESEARCH.
If you can get new players in the habit of FIGHTING from the start, they WILL stick around. I have observed this many times as the leader of successful and powerful feds as well as the mentor of several new players myself, and firmly believe that this is a big part of new player retention.
Staff, I know this will require upkeep and create a lot of work which is why I emphasize SLOW/NORMAL and ONLY for NEW players after a certain date. If you can commit to this, deliberate on appropriate (but MOTIVATING) rewards for new players to fight and get "set up" quickly on slower servers, you can really revitalize Normal/Slow. You can even limit it to ONLY new empires under 120 days old or less with "newbie like" stats.
Just make it generous enough to entice newbies and the folks who don`t currently play Normal/Slow server to join and stick around. A promotion like this would be a boon and well worth it i think.
Edited by Renegade on 2012-01-19
R
RagnarokOP